Simply A Masterpiece

Excellent but underrated film

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Peter Yates' "Run of the Country" (1995) is a pretty obscure picture and only available on VHS. I was able to secure a brand-new copy recently for only 25 cents. But maybe it's not so obscure since a poster for it can be seen at a cinema in a 1995 episode of Seinfeld, "The Pool Guy" (season 7, episode 8).THE PLOT: Near the border of Northern Ireland an 18 year-old named Danny (Matt Keeslar) leaves home after the death of his mother due to serious friction with his gruff father (Albert Finney), a local cop. Danny moves in with his free-spirited friend, Cocoa (Anthony Brophy), and learns the ropes of manhood, including an intimate relationship with a girl across the border, Annagh (Victoria Smurfit). When crises strike he finally comes to understand his... (watch the film and find out).Shot in the Redhills, County Cavan, area of Ireland, near the border, "Run of the Country" is a realistic coming-of-age drama. The acting is great across the board, especially Finney as the father and Brophy as Danny's wild friend. Simply put, this is quality drama with laughs, romance, conflict, action and gorgeous photography of rural Ireland.GRADE: B

There is no need to warn people away from "The Run of the Country" because at this point you are not exactly deluged with viewing opportunities. That said there is little reason to track down this film unless you yearn for some nice Irish scenery (including a fair red-haired Irish lass-Victoria Smurfit of "Berkeley Square" fame).Although directed by Peter Yates, do not expect anything on the level of his "Breaking Away" masterpiece. Shane Connaughton adapted his own novel about characters living near the "artificial" border between the two Irelands. His characters are all contradictions. Teenage Danny (Matt Keeslar) is cold and reserved but given to moments of extreme impulse and passion. His father (Albert Finney) fluctuates between a wise caring philosopher and a nasty frustrated bully. His wild friend Prunty (Anthony Brophy) is a fun-loving free spirit who is secretly a very active member of the IRA. His red-haired Irish girl is the product of a mixed (Catholic-Protestant) marriage and fluctuates between a mature self-possessed young woman and a weak little girl who inexplicably fails to do and say very obvious things that would improve the situation. These contradictions might be effective allegorical elements in the novel but do not translate to believable characters in the context of a film, where there is not adequate time to explore their motivations and complexities.The production is technically solid and the supporting cast is excellent. Brophy is the best of the leads and Keeslar is worst. If there was a box office reason for casting a handsome American actor as Danny (who was not a pretty boy in the novel), it did not serve them well and it totally alters the basic charm of the core romance.The scenery is nice, David Kelly (the Irish builder O'Reilly in "Fawlty Towers) is excellent as the local priest, Carole Nimmons is very entertaining as Mrs. Prunty, and there are some funny lines. The weakest parts of the film are the closing scenes, which are soap opera melodrama. Up to this point the film has maintained a generally realistic tone and the resolution comes across as contrived and unlikely (insert disappointing here).

This was a disappointment. There's no point in repeating the comments others have made about the dodgy acting. As an Irish person, I can also add that the accents were highly questionable and in some cases just plain wrong. Rites of passage films tend to be pretty formulaic and this one broke no moulds. Nor did it ever intend to.

The movie was powerful enough to help me realize I was in love. It defined the boundaries between romance, lust, affection, and love. Placed in the heart of the Irish countryside, "Run of the Country" explored the clash between a tradition-based generation and its modern offspring on subjects as delicate as love, sex, marriage, and family. Ultimately, if you're lucky enough to be in love with an Irish, you'll know exactly why.